Morrissey interview by Lior Ashkenazi (pics)

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tjekket

this was justed posted on the main board
and this post i do now has nothing to do with moz..;-)
names of the dvd that moz get from lior: (Score:0)
Here are the dvd movies that lior gave Morrissey- all are israely maker:

guy Volach writes:
Today there is a big interview in the Israeli newspaper with Morrissey. Lior Ashkenazy, a well known Israeli actor, that morrissey likes very much, flew specially to London to meet Morrissey and to talk with him about the show that will take place in 29.07 Tel-Aviv. They met at a hotel in London. Ashkenazy brought Morrissey some DVDs he likes and after they go to the 02 London Festival and were at the backstage. On Friday the photographed interview will published in the net and I will send it to you. Here are some pics I scanned from the meeting Ashkenazy-Morrissey. To be continued…

i LOVE YOSSI AND JAGER saw it twice when it started in the cinema...recommended also walk on walter!
yossi and yager:
A sociological study of two men in the Israeli army who are lovers. The others in the unit react to their situation, suspecting, but not always understanding. One will leave the military soon, a few months away, as a snowy and desolute outpost is guarded from attack.
synopsis
An Israeli military outpost serves as the staging ground for this theatrical and tragic love story between Yossi and Jagger, young soldiers in the Israeli army. Yossi, the stolid captain of the outpost, and Jagger, nicknamed after the Rolling Stones front man, are lovers, but they struggle to hide their relationship from the rest of the troop. Private excursions through snowy trails serve to camouflage their trysts, but Jagger becomes dissatisfied with their secrecy, adding tension to this dynamic short film. Unlike action-oriented war movies, 'Yossi and Jagger' focuses more on the mundane activities of military service - scenes of ditch-digging, cooking, snowball fights, and an ad-hoc outpost dance party born from boredom and anxiety figure largely in the film - resulting in a realistic and less sensationalist account of war. Because the soldiers never identify the enemy by name, barely mentioning the existence of one at all, the viewer may speculate if their enemy is real, or is perhaps even the soldiers themselves. Eventually, however, they are called upon to ambush this invisible and unidentified enemy, and the film shifts gears, providing us with the violence a war always brings. But the combat yields an ironic and fatal twist, one quite unlike the American films that Yossi and Jagger frequently satirise.
EDIT:
the bubble is s also great..HAVE IT ON DVD
ideo Description
Emotionally moving and brimming with youthful energy, Eytan Fox's (Yossi & Jagger) The Bubble is a snapshot of three Tel Aviv friends.

Their lives filled with trendy cafes, boutiques and the occasional sexual adventures, the trio seek refuge in their metropolitan "bubble," isolating them from omnipresent fear of modern warfare around them. But when young Noam falls in love with a Palestinian young man named Ashraf, a chain of events is set in motion threatening their naïve, idealistic existence.

Synopsis
Set in Tel Aviv, THE BUBBLE beams with youthful optimism but also with the sobering reality of life in the Middle East. When three roommates living in Tel Aviv's hippest neighborhood try to help one of their own connect with a Palestinian love interest, they are unprepared for how quickly the safe bubble they've been living in bursts.
edit

I invited Gal Uchovsky, who's a Morrissey expert and also a good friend of mine, to join me. . Morrissey entered the room, and he was very polite but quite suspicious. In order to break the ice, we gave him gifts we brought from Israel. These included DVDs of Gal and Eytan Fox's films, "Yossi & Jagger", "Walk on Water", "The Bubble" and "Gotta Have Heart", and also Dover Kosashvili's "Late Wedding" and "Gift from Above".
Gal and Morrissey started talking about things that only the both of them understood, old songs from the seventies and stuff like that. It turns out that they had a short email correspondence after Gal found out that Morrissey likes their films, so Morrissey was already familiar with Gal's taste in music. .

New Member

This will probably come off as racist and anti-semetic, but... why Israel? Of all the countries in the world, why there? Can we deduce from this that he is an Israeli sympathiser? Because, speaking as someone with experience living in occupied territory, I'm not sure I... never mind.

Member

This will probably come off as racist and anti-semetic, but... why Israel? Of all the countries in the world, why there? Can we deduce from this that he is an Israeli sympathiser? Because, speaking as someone with experience living in occupied territory, I'm not sure I... never mind.

Love me outside!

Lior Ashkenazi is a fantastic actor (and very handsome too ). Of that list I've seen walk on water (my fav), late marriage (also very good) and the band's visit. The last one does not feature Lior but it's also very nice.

Now I'll have to look into the rest of that list.

Moz has an incredible good taste in film : Godard's band à part is great and so is Mama Roma by Pasolini, everything by Visconti,etc

Member

I understand. Still, there is and will be enough Moz bashers, so I wouldn't want to give them any ammunition. Until now, have made no comment regarding this concert and don't plan to make any further comment.

You do realise that this qualifies as a comment don't you?
As for the reason why Israel? Why not?
Israel is a beautiful country and israeli people are a lovely, charming bunch. The same can't be said about the Israeli government, but hey... George dubya is an asshole too, that doesn't mean that we should all stop visiting the US, does it now.

In an infinite universe; eternal time, why just do what people tell you? 'ave a laugh; do what you want. (Russell Brand}

Banned

You do realise that this qualifies as a comment don't you?
As for the reason why Israel? Why not?
Israel is a beautiful country and israeli people are a lovely, charming bunch. The same can't be said about the Israeli government, but hey... George dubya is an asshole too, that doesn't mean that we should all stop visiting the US, does it now.

America is on my boycott list. Despite my best friend and my brother, and previously Moz living and touring there. It is not a place I have been or intend to ever go. America is also a beautiful country and Americans, like the English, the Scots or any nationality of naked apes, are generally lovely, charming people too. The same could be said of Zimbabwe but I wont be going there anytime soon.

If you really need me to point out why I'd prefer Morrissey not to play there then I suspect either politics, religion or both have dulled your ability to evaluate and judge the morals of the state of Israel. 'I ain't gonna play Sun City.'

I did not say it isn't a beautiful country. Nor did I criticise the Israeli people.

This is now my second comment on this issue and as I do not feel the need, nor believe I have the ability to change anything, I would prefer not to debate it. Especially in a forum so frequented by those who would take great glee in Morrissey's audience being fractured on this issue. Cease fire.

Moderator or not, can I just say that I do not appreciate your attitude and the phrasing of your posts sometimes. I was not trying to "hi-jack" this thread at all, I was merely raising a point and asking a question related to the original topic of this thread.

You could simply have said something like, "This has been discussed at this link", instead of that rude and, frankly, obnoxious reply you posted.

I'm not trying to start an arguement with you, I just feel the tone of your posts is perhaps something you may want to consider given your position as a moderator.

allyouneedismorrissey.com

I'm totally gonna ramble here because no one else I know in 'real' life has seen this film, and I've been wanting to talk about it.

Here be spoilers:

I think, in the end, the father turned out to be the greatest "villian," gleefully dancing at the wedding, despite having experienced the pain of "the way we do things" himself. He had the opportunity to allow his son some happiness, but refused to break with "tradition" and sent his son to the wolves, so to speak. (Poor sad veiled bride )

Everyone has a hand in the sadness, though. Lior's character should have stood up to his family, especially in front of his girlfriend (in front of her daughter no less).

But he's damned either way. So often the case in life.

Morally, yes, he should have followed his heart and stood up to his family but you can see his agony and the mental tug of war. He's a decent human being. He just chose the easy way, the "socially approved" way, not necessarily the best way, as most of us often do. We all want to be rebels, but its hard to say "no," especially if you like your family, or worse, depend on them. Dependence is the ultimate form of control. (Note to self: raise independent children).

And how great were those women's roles? I can't think of any recent Hollywood films with such realistic characters.

And, tying it back to this forum, I think that's part of the reason I admire Morrissey so much. He seems to have no trouble saying No to people. Years of Refusal, and all. But he doesn't set himself up on a pedestal, he's in the muck of life, like the rest of us.

Banned

Moderator or not, can I just say that I do not appreciate your attitude and the phrasing of your posts sometimes. I was not trying to "hi-jack" this thread at all, I was merely raising a point and asking a question related to the original topic of this thread.

You could simply have said something like, "This has been discussed at this link", instead of that rude and, frankly, obnoxious reply you posted.

I'm not trying to start an arguement with you, I just feel the tone of your posts is perhaps something you may want to consider given your position as a moderator.

Hideous trait.

I'm totally gonna ramble here because no one else I know in 'real' life has seen this film, and I've been wanting to talk about it.

Here be spoilers:

I think, in the end, the father turned out to be the greatest "villian," gleefully dancing at the wedding, despite having experienced the pain of "the way we do things" himself. He had the opportunity to allow his son some happiness, but refused to break with "tradition" and sent his son to the wolves, so to speak. (Poor sad veiled bride )

Everyone has a hand in the sadness, though. Lior's character should have stood up to his family, especially in front of his girlfriend (in front of her daughter no less).

But he's damned either way. So often the case in life.

Morally, yes, he should have followed his heart and stood up to his family but you can see his agony and the mental tug of war. He's a decent human being. He just chose the easy way, the "socially approved" way, not necessarily the best way, as most of us often do. We all want to be rebels, but its hard to say "no," especially if you like your family, or worse, depend on them. Dependence is the ultimate form of control. (Note to self: raise independent children).

And how great were those women's roles? I can't think of any recent Hollywood films with such realistic characters.

And, tying it back to this forum, I think that's part of the reason I admire Morrissey so much. He seems to have no trouble saying No to people. Years of Refusal, and all. But he doesn't set himself up on a pedestal, he's in the muck of life, like the rest of us.

I thought I posted it here, but it must have been on the main page. I hated his character so much at the end, he was so weak. I hated his family, too, but you can only be responsible for the choices you make, and he made the weakest one. Such a coward. Like his parents wouldn't have eventually come around. Parents always do. Once she gave him a son, all would have been forgiven.

Oh, and also-
Did anyone figure out where her other child was? I thought it was mentioned that she had two, but only the daughter lived with her? Had the other child died, or was (he?) living with her ex-husband?

Depending on the answer (which I suspect lies buried in the original dialogue and just didn't make it to the English subtitling,) it's kind of interesting that she may have already been forced to make a Sophie's Choice- yet when it was his turn, he failed. I can't imagine living without one of my two children.

Don't ask

Not much of an interview, more of Ashkenazi's memoirs from the interview. I'm not a professional translator so there could be some minor inaccuracies or strange grammar, but… I did my best:

[mm... it tells me that the post is too long. Here's part one, then:]

A MEETING OF ADMIRERS
Lior Ashkenazi

It all began two years ago. Fans asked Morrissey on his blog which movies he likes, and he replied that the best film he saw recently was an Israeli film called "Late Wedding", featuring an Israeli actor named Lior Ashkenazi that he liked very much. He also wrote that he saw another film, "Walk on Water", and that he also enjoyed it a lot. Later on there came a story from Israeli fans who saw him performing in Istanbul. They raised the Israeli flag and he shouted in response "Lior Ashkenazi".
There was once an attempt to link the two of us through his blog and it didn't work out. It's a shame. As far as I'm concerned, Morrissey is the Smiths. As a typical refugee of the eighties, I know their records very well. I'm less familiar with his solo career, but still, he's Morrissey, a giant rock star. And now, that it was announced that he's coming to perform in Israel, an email correspondence began in Shuki Weiss' [the producer that's in charge of Morrissey concert in Israel - davdavon] office when Morrissey announced that he wants to meet me and only me. Of course, nothing was done in a direct manner – everything happened through middlemen, managers and agents. More or less like the negotiations between Israel and Syria.

HALAF U'DVASH
I invited Gal Uchovsky, who's a Morrissey expert and also a good friend of mine, to join me. So, on Friday, Uchovsky and I boarded a flight on our way to watch a Morrissey concert in London and have a personal meeting with Morrissey, towards his landing in Ganey Yehoshuah [the venue where Morrissey will perform in Israel – davdavon] on July 29th.
Before meeting him for the first time, in the suite of a luxurious hotel, we met Sarah, his manager, who explained to us that we have 25 minutes and warned us "not to ask anything about the Smiths, because on that very moment he will get up and leave the room". Morrissey entered the room, and he was very polite but quite suspicious. In order to break the ice, we gave him gifts we brought from Israel. These included DVDs of Gal and Eytan Fox's films, "Yossi & Jagger", "Walk on Water", "The Bubble" and "Gotta Have Heart", and also Dover Kosashvili's "Late Wedding" and "Gift from Above". Because there was a sale in the duty-free shop, we also got him the excellent "The Band's Visit". Gal also brought the new English Guide to Tel Aviv, and it certainly did the job. It seems that he's very fond of gifts. He knew all the films, even the ones that he didn't see, and told us that he already watched "Gift from Above", but without translation. We tried to understand how and when, but we didn't really manage to.
Gal and Morrissey started talking about things that only the both of them understood, old songs from the seventies and stuff like that. It turns out that they had a short email correspondence after Gal found out that Morrissey likes their films, so Morrissey was already familiar with Gal's taste in music. They also spoke about the Eurovision, that stopped interesting me in 1977, but it was certainly amusing hearing Morrissey trying to pronounce "Halav u'Dvash" ["Milk and Honey" - an Israeli pop group that won the Eurovision contest in 1979 – davdavon] and "Abanibi" [Israel's Eurovision-winning song in 1978 - davdavon].
"I don't really watch the Eurovision anymore", Morrissey quickly apologised when we asked him about songs from the recent contests.
- Which Israeli song do you remember the best from the Eurovision?
"Abanibi by Halav u'Dvash"
- "Abanibi" wasn't performed by Halav u'Dvash, it's Izhar Cohen's song. "Hallelujah" was Halav u'Dvash's song.
"Oh, so I like Abanibi as well".
Generally, Israel interests Morrissey very much. He asked us what shows are broadcast on our television and what's Tel Aviv like, whether he'll get a good reception, how many people will come to the concert, and particularly what food do we eat. Morrissey doesn't touch meat, and unlike many guests from abroad coming to Israel, he never really heard about humus and tahini. "I like light-coloured food, yoghurts", he apprehensively explained. We convinced him that everything will be alright.
Morrissey will stay three days in Israel, and the thing he wants the most, so he revealed to us, is to travel to the Dead Sea. He likes the idea of being there and recreating the scene from "Walk on Water". "I'd like to sit on the beach, cover myself in mud, and then get inside and float on the water," he told us. I promised him that if it works out, I'll take him to a place that I know in the Dead Sea. I told him that I already took Gérard Depardieu there when we filmed a movie together and that he had a great time. Don't let people say that we're not doing a good service to tourism in our country.
Morrissey isn't willing to commit himself regarding which songs he'll perform in his concert here. "I still enjoy performing very much", he said. "I sing what I decide to sing before the concert. I don't know if I'll sing the old Smiths hits. Maybe I will and maybe I won't. I'm my own master on the stage. I do what I want. I decide which songs I'll sing, what the setlist will be, and if I suddenly want to sing something different, I do it."
So Morrissey still wasn't willing to commit himself about his setlist in Ganey Yehoshuah, but he was quite interested in my musical preferences. "What music do you like?" he surprised me with a question. I was confused and didn't know what to answer. I was too embarrassed to tell him "yours", and didn't want to say anything that will insult him. Gal got me out of it and answered that I like the Beatles. Morrissey asked if there's nothing more contemporary and I said Beck. He didn't answer, just raised an eyebrow. I didn't understand if he liked him or not. However, he seems to intensely dislike Kylie Minogue, since he later asked us: "Did you hear that Kylie Minogue received an MBE from the Queen yesterday for her contribution to music? What exactly did she contribute to music? Can she sing? Can she write? What exactly can she do?"
Later he asked me since when I wanted to be an actor and which actors I liked in my youth. When I gave him the full list, including Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, he rebuked me: "all Americans". I tried to save the situation, so I said "ehh, I also like Tom Conti", but apparently it was too late.
We sat for almost an hour, double the time that we were allocated, but the feeling was strange. All in all, I came there because he asked. He admires me for my films, I admire him for his music. On the flight I thought that maybe we'll go have a drink after the meeting, but London isn't Tel Aviv and Morrissey isn't Ivri Lider [an Israeli singer – davdavon]. We left with the feeling that we didn't get each other. Between the lines, we felt that he kept telling us "hey, we're actually quite the same", but going out, I thought that maybe we were just making it all up. Morrissey probably got how we felt. "I'll see you this evening, right?" he asked. "Come to me backstage". We understood by his stare that he was trying to calm us, that it was a work meeting, and that in the evening it will be more personal. Anyway, one of hi staff members explained to us where we should go after the concert, gave us backstage passes, and so we said goodbye.

Don't ask

FIFTY IS OLD
We had two hours to walk around the town and get settled in the hotel, and then we left by foot to Hyde Park. Morrissey's concert was the main event of the second day of a giant festival called O2 Wireless. Because of the time pressure, we didn't get the chance to check who's performing before Morrissey, and we were quite surprised when we heard familiar songs on the way and suddenly realised that Beck was on the stage. Just an hour before I looked for one of his albums in a store. But until we walked around the fences and got inside, Beck already finished. Exactly on a quarter to nine, as promised, Morrissey took the stage. With a T-shirt saying "Playboy", accompanied by five excellent young musicians. There, on the stage, we discovered a different person. Morrissey is a great performer. An awesome singer. He knows the job very well.
As someone with experience in working in front of an audience, I can determine that Morrissey knows exactly what to do on stage, how to tempt the audience, how to excite it. And also how to look correctly to the cameras that transmit him to the video screens. One should remember that he's 50 years old. In the morning, when we spoke to him about his age, he told us that 50 is old. After the fourth song he yelled to the audience: "Four songs and I'm still on my feet. What do you say?"
It seems that his ability to laugh about himself turns him into a true star, because from that moment, his age and looks didn't matter anymore. He took that demon, got it out, shook it, and that's it. From that moment he became lighter. And it was a pleasure. Morrissey's lyrics are quite international. He's very verbal, a kind of a Shlomo Artzi [an Israeli singer known for his on-stage banter – davdavon]. Everyone who knows him knows that already from the Smiths period, a great part of the issue were the lyrics. The words behind the music having meaning, being able to deliver a message.
Morrissey sang quite a few Smiths song, and hits of his from all eras. I was particularly excited by a forty-years old man standing next to me, singing all the songs together with his five-years old daughter, who sat on his shoulders during the whole concert. It was obvious that they both listen to his albums at home, and it was cute seeing such a little girl who knows every line of his songs by heart. Once in a few songs he changed his shirt in front of the audience, revealing his stomach without caring about it. Just taking it off and putting on another shirt. One of them was an American Idol T-shirt that he just threw to the audience.
After the concert we went to the backstage area. His manager led us to a small corner with grass and chairs, where about twenty people waited for him. We mainly recognised Chrissie Hynde, vocalist for the Pretenders, who came to show her respect. When he entered the room she showered him with compliments. In the beginning they felt a little clich[FONT=&quot]é[/FONT]d, but as the evening went on it turned out that they're good friends.
In a certain stage Morrissey called us and introduced us to the people standing with him. Except for Hynde, there was also a young, very successful English comedian named Russell Brand, who's just starting to act in Hollywood now, Morrissey's sister and two of his nephews, around twenty years old, who gave the whole thing a family feeling. Slowly, we realise that the people who arrived there were his closest group, that we're in the most secure, guarded place in Morrissey's system. During the hour and a half that we stood there with him, no one took any picture, neither by camera nor by cellphone. No one asked anyone for an autograph. All the things that give a feeling of "work" weren't there.
Chrissie Hynde broke the ice with a story about an Israeli boyfriend she had during the last year and dumped her. She wouldn't stop cursing him, and all our attempts to tell her to come to Israel so we'll find her someone else, less of a bastard, wouldn't convince her. Morrissey himself was much more loose. He drank quite a few Coronas and burped without shame. In spite of that, he was in control the whole time. He recognised the moment when the conversation about Israeli men with Chrissie Hynde didn't lead anywhere, said "enough with the jokes" and changed the subject.
We were almost the last to leave. The party was over and it was clear that it's time to go home. I told Morrissey that I'd be glad to take him to the Dead Sea, if we have the time. But I didn't offer to exchange phone numbers or anything. I figured to myself that if he wants, I'll find a way to say it. And indeed, on the way out, his manager, who chased us out in the morning, gave me a visiting-card. On one side, the words "don't speak" were printed in small letters. On the other side, in his handwriting, his email address. I suppose that I'll mail him and thank him for the good concert. And if he really wants, we'll take him to the Dead Sea. After all, he's Morrissey.

My one true love

Thank you for TuQui for making us aware of this article and davdavon for all your hard work for the wonderful translation. I'm just thinking of Morrissey floating in the Dead Sea and laughing. Great insightful article about the meeting.